Update on: The Power of Social Media

Updated March 18, 2011
At the tail end of 2010 we sent out a company email blast to our customers introducing our 8017 to our customer base. Flippantly I decided to use the headline: “Is it Andersen* or is it MGM”. I thought nothing of it until I came back from Christmas break and was anointed a nice new years packet from Andersen’s legal department. I’ve documented that drama on this blog so I do not want to rehash it in yet another entry. (Or visit the original post: The Power of Social Media)

I have another story to write this morning. The story itself is interesting to me, but it spurs my thinking about the changing world and the impact that the Internet and social media have on it. Back in January I wrote how the event with Andersen really had my wheels turning. I wondered and pondered statistical theory about nodal points. I was wondering just how powerful a blog could be and might be. I mentioned my fascination by the interaction of it all. That was before the impact of Facebook and Twitter on events in the Middle East. It’s now about three months after the Andersen legal department sent their nicety. About two weeks after I started my defense through social media, I had a conversation with the person that was instructed to send me the letter to MGM. At that time he told me that Andersen planned no further legal action on the matter, and considered it closed. To me it shows the power of social media. The old days of griding a company into legal submission have been altered by the Internet. The legal tool still exists, but it can now back fire in ways to hurt the company using such Draconian methods. Now the true story can be disseminated in moments via social media. That’s absolutely astounding. And it can lead to tremendous leaps in the World’s quest for a better place. Right now the Middle East is another example of the power of social media. Social media is at its infancy and there is a lot of noise that is created by this media that only complicates communication, but there is a powerful tool being forged that can make a huge impact on the world in an extremely positive way. It gives one hope for the future, notwithstanding the recent tragedy in Japan and the continued economic struggles of the American peoples.

*Andersen™ is a registered trademark of Andersen Corporation. MGM is not affiliated with Andersen in any way.